BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 19: I'll Have Another ridden by Mario Gutierrez comes ahead at the finish to beat Bodemeister ridden by Mike Smith to win the 137th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 19, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.Rob Carr
/ Getty Images

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 19: Jockey Mario Gutierrez kisses the trophy in the winners circle after riding I'll Have Another to win the 137th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 19, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.Rob Carr
/ Getty Images

I'll Have Another's trainer Doug O'Neill holds up a trophy in the winner's circle after I'll Have Another won the 137th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 19, 2012, in Baltimore.Matt Slocum
/ AP

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 19: I'll Have Another ridden by Mario Gutierrez (L) beats Bodemeister ridden by Mike E. Smith at the finish line to win the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 19, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.Patrick Smith
/ Getty Images

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 19: I'll Have Another ridden by Mario Gutierrez (L) beats Bodemeister ridden by Mike E. Smith at the finish line to win the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 19, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.Patrick Smith
/ Getty Images

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 19: I'll Have Another ridden by Mario Gutierrez celebrates as he wins the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 19, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.Patrick Smith
/ Getty Images

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 19: The field makes their way toward turn one in the 137th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 19, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.Patrick Smith
/ Getty Images

I'll Have Another (9), ridden by Mario Gutierrez, beats Bodemeister, ridden by Mike Smith, to the finish line to win the 137th Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, May 19, 2012, in Baltimore.Matt Slocum
/ AP

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 19: Mario Gutierrez is congratulated by Jack Sisterson after riding I'll Have Another to win the 137th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 19, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland.Matthew Stockman
/ Getty Images

Hastings Racecourse erupted with cheers as Mario Gutierrez, aboard I’ll Have Another, won the Preakness Stakes, just two weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby.Submitted
/ http://pic.twitter.com/Tf3DV3Or

Hastings Racecourse erupted with cheers Saturday as 25-year-old jockey Mario Gutierrez, aboard I'll Have Another, won the Preakness Stakes, just two weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby.

"It's just all about the horse," Gutierrez told NBC Sports minutes after winning the Preakness.

Gutierrez and I'll Have Another conjured another incredible comeback, as they overtook rival Bodemeister down the home stretch at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, MD., mimicking almost the exact same scene that won them the Kentucky Derby.

The two are now just one more victory away from winning horse racing's coveted Triple Crown. They can complete the improbable feat on June 9 at the Belmont Stakes.

I'll Have Another was set at 3-1 odds to win the Preakness, compared to the 8-5 favourite Bodemeister.

Gutierrez and I'll Have Another, which belongs to Canada's Reddam Racing, can become the first Triple Crown winners since 1978, when Affirmed became the last horse to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont.

Originally from Veracruz, Mexico, Gutierrez spent six years competing at Hastings Racecourse, from 2006 to 2011, before becoming an instant celebrity with his victory two weeks ago at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY.

Fans steadily piled into Hastings Racecourse, which sits in the northeast section of Vancouver near Burrard Inlet, to watch a full day of racing, as well as the main event, the Preakness, on a large screen on the track's infield.

Many were decked out in white and purple 'Go Mario Go' T-shirts, or sported buttons with the same message.

They were quiet in the moments leading up to the start of the Preakness, but began to cheer wildly when Gutierrez and I'll Have Another began to close on Bodemeister in the final 200 yards.

Then the party began the instant it became official that I'll Have Another pulled off the win.

The fans all cheered, some hugged, others high-fived each other. The tiny track, which had never laid claim to a Kentucky Derby entry - forget a winner - until Gutierrez came along, is now becoming world famous.

"Amazing. It's so exciting," said Sharon McGovern of Vancouver. She was on hand with her daughter, Julie, to watch Gutierrez take the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

"I was just wondering if he could do it."

Julie added: "I thought Bodemeister was going to take it."

Both mother and daughter were stuck at home with the flu last weekend when Gutierrez made his return to Vancouver after winning the Derby.

They said they plan to be at Hastings on June 9, when the once-unheralded jockey from an impoverished farming community in Mexico looks to add another chapter to his Cinderella Story by winning the Belmont.

"It's a great underdog story that movies are made of," said Raj Mutti, the general manager of Hastings Racecourse.

Glen Todd, a horse owner at Hastings and Gutierrez's mentor, said just before the Preakness that Gutierrez can win the entire Triple Crown. He admitted his bias for Gutierrez a few seconds later.

Todd took Gutierrez into his White Rock home when the young jockey arrived in Vancouver, by way of Mexico. Bias or not, Todd's bold prediction is one step closer to becoming a reality.

"I talked to him this morning. He seems totally relaxed. He's fine. He's got ice in his veins," said Todd, who was hosting a Preakness race party inside the confines of the Vancouver track.

"I think he wins today. I think he wins the Triple Crown."

ctucker@vancouversun.com

Twitter.com/CamTuckerSun

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